Chapter 9. An Eventful Halloween (1st Part) The War Begins
"How can Harry possibly have a power we didn't know about?" Mel asked, her arms crossed over her chest.
They had all reunited in Billie's and her brother's common room, it connected the dorms of the three of them (and some empty ones) and was located behind a portrait of the Legendary Morgana le Fay, a mythical witch that was supposed to have powers a lot greater than any modern witch or wizard. The password was 'Power of Three' (it had been the boy's idea, as it was something they could all remember easily).
"That's not exactly true." Draco commented suddenly.
"What do you mean?" Mel asked turning to look at him.
"Well, I've heard you say before that Harry has the power of manipulating energy in its pure state, right?" Draco asked.
Mel nodded, not really understanding what he meant to say.
"Yes." Wyatt nodded. "It's the angel with a demon's power."
It was like a joke between them, as some people considered white-lighters as some sort of guardian-angels for witches; and then there was the fact that the power of manipulating energy was considered as a demonic one. Therefore Harry was an 'angel' with the power of a demon. It was something Wyatt and Chris always made fun of, though Harry had never liked it, there was enough evil in his life with him fighting demons and now also the Dark Lord and his minions to also have to consider a part of himself as some sort of 'evil'. Perhaps that was why he rarely every used that power of his.
"I don't think it was meant to be that way." Draco explained. "If considered it carefully, what is a spell made of? Energy. Therefore, that was always Harry's ability. The only difference is that before he didn't think about giving a form to the energy he used, now he does, he can give it the form of a spell."
The others had to admit that what Draco said made sense, a lot of it in fact. They had always known of that particular power Harry possessed and had tried to find a reason for someone like him to have it, never finding any; yet they had never really thought of looking for a wizard-reason.
And Harry definitely liked that explanation more like the other boy's jokes. That way at least he could be sure there was no more evil in his life than the one he fought (and the scar but that's beside the point, he already has his mind-shields for that).
"It seems we're really opposites now." Draco told Harry with a hint of humor. "You create the energy for the spells, and I break it."
Harry smiled at that.
.---.
Tuesday brought even more surprises in DADA class with the beginning of the teens training in martial arts, but that had been expected already.
After much thinking Billie had taken the risk to take her classes with the sixth year students to the same level he was using for the seventh years. She wasn't sure if the younger students would be able to handle something like that. However, she had positive results with the way she did things.
Several sixth years proved to have gifts as well, the most noticeable being Ginny Weasley, who seemed to be an empathic; meaning she could feel others emotions, she could also sense the good and evil will in those around her (meaning she also knew when someone was about to attack her or those nearby), and with some practice she might even be able to project her own emotions to affect others. Luna Lovegood, a Ravenclaw girl who was well known for saying things that made no sense at all, and was also Neville's girlfriend, surprised everyone (just like her boyfriend) when it was discovered that she had potential as an illusionist; all the things she could imagine, she could project them, making others see them, Billie had told her that with a lot of effort and practice she might even be able to trap her opponents in made-up realities, something that would help her a lot in a battle.
Besides, Melinda had chosen to reveal her ability to make things explode. Although before anyone could even try and say that her power was evil Wyatt stepped-forth with the technical explanation he had once heard from his mother (that with that power you make the molecules move so fast they can stay together and split, making the object, person or whatever come apart, or explode).
.---.
Classes passed by fast, with classes progressing at a steady rhythm. Still, the ones the students always expected the most was DADA, and even those who hadn't showed any gift managed to prove they were good enough with a wand, a weapon, martial arts or a combination of those.
As much as the teachers in general were worried for a possible attack coming from Voldemort and his DE, Billie was clearly the most worried of them all.
There was a good reason for Billie's great worry, and it was that on one of the classes with the seventh years Lavender had gotten in some kind of trance while practicing with some tarot cards and declared something really disturbing:
"No longer alone the Dark Lord is,
For now the Shadow Queen has joined him.
Together they shall reign,
In the upcoming era of terror and despair."
And as distressing as those words had been, they couldn't be ignored, for the three 'Fates' had confirmed them that very same day; after Hermione had astral-projected all the way to their condo in SF to talk to them; though they had also added another stanza:
"Hope is not yet lost,
For the future still has a chance,
Destiny has chosen its defenders:
The White-Angel and the Lady of Light."
That prophecy, that in a sense seemed to be a response to the one Lavender had given them, was quite confusing. None of them had ever heard of the titles of 'White Angel', or Lady of Light'. And when asked, the Elders didn't help them at all (not that they had been expecting much anyway).
The identity of the 'Shadow Queen' was a mystery to them all as well; but at least they had the hope that there was a way to win that war. There was only one slight problem. And it was that they still couldn't find a way to fit those two prophecies (especially the second one) with the one spoken by Sibyl Trelawney so many years ago (the prophecy that had condemned Harvey Potter to be pursued by the Dark Lord). And even then they didn't doubt of the veracity of all of them.
Knowing that it wouldn't do good to have the other teachers, and especially Prof. Dumbledore asking how they got their information Billie and the seven teens that knew her and helped her decided not to tell anything about the second prophecy, and Billie pretended not to have a way of knowing if Lavender's prophecy had been a real one or not. They all believed there was a lot more at stake than a girl's pride over an accomplishment.
.---.
They had all known that the wait would end sooner or later, when Voldemort finally made his move; however, they hadn't been expecting it to be so soon.
Officially to all the wizarding-world, and even though there had been other battles and a lot of trouble from the DE before, October the 31st was declared as the day the Second Great Magic War began.
It was a Hogsmeade weekend; meaning that most of the Hogwarts's students were somewhere in the wizard village having fun. Suddenly the Dark Mark appeared in the sky, and right as some people began screaming about it several dozens of cloaked figures apparated in random streets of the village.
When Harvey saw them from his spot next to the entrance to "The Three Broomsticks", the place he had been about to enter with his friends, he knew he had to make a decision: he could run, like many were trying to do already, or he could hold his ground and act like the hero so many people believed him to be.
"Crucio!" They heard a voice call.
And that word was followed by the shrieking scream of the innocent person (most probably a student) who had been unfortunate enough to be standing at the DE's path.
The only positive thing may be that that horrible scream was what finally made Harvey make up his mind.
"Listen!" He yelled at the top of his lungs. "All of you who know how to duel, do it; the rest get cover inside the closest shop!"
Several began whispering, though they had stopped running aimlessly, apparently seeing the boy-who-lived saying those words had left them thinking.
"He's right." Ginny stood to his boyfriend's side. "We're more than them, why should we run when we can fight back?"
Without another word both of them, along with their two best friends: Lavender and Ron, got their wands out and began firing any spell that came to their minds, either to protect someone or attack the DE.
Even if some went back to running or trying to hide, some people did take the teen's words to heart and followed them, some more hesitantly than others.
A couple of minutes later the DE found themselves fighting off a resistance they hadn't been expecting to encounter after taking the village by surprise. They especially hadn't expected most of the members of that resistance to be the very students they had gone there to terrorize. Things were certainly not going the way they wanted them to.
.---.
Chris and Wyatt, who had gone with the students to see the village for the first time, and also keep an eye on the students, were quite surprised as well to see all of those who drew their wands to fight.
Henry, who had been the one showing everything to the brothers immediately used his powers to call to three of the white cloaks he and the others had used while fighting DE with their own powers at the end of the last school year; he handed one to each brother and put the other on, along with the masks.
"We must be quick and discreet." Henry told the other two as if he were talking to some kids younger than him and not the other way around. "We can't handle to have our covers blown up, not yet."
The other two nodded. They knew Henry was right.
With that they split and went to help as much as could, careful not to do things openly, and not leave any clue as to who they actually were.
.---.
Neville had been showing Luna some of his favorite plants in the botanical garden at the limits of Hogsmeade when suddenly he noticed his girlfriend was no longer at his side.
"Neville!" She cried out suddenly.
Neville turned around sharply to see his girlfriend being held back by two DE. What little training in martial arts he had had in the previous two months kicked in as he flexed his knees slightly, one foot in front of the other, both hands raised, one already with his wand, it was the basic defensive-position they had learnt recently.
"So the boy pretends to fight us?" One of the DE taunt us.
"He maybe thinks he can save his girl…" The other added. "Before we have some good 'fun' with her."
That last comment made Neville see red, he immediately jumped against the first man, leaving aside two basic rules in fighting: #1: Never leave an enemy out of your sight, and #2: Always be sure you have a way to defeat those you attack.
The DE just laughed as he shot a simple curse that sent Neville flying backwards until finally he landed in between some pots with plants.
"Neville!" Luna cried out worriedly.
"What a weakling…" The first DE said distastefully.
"You bastard…" Luna hissed.
"Don't talk to me in that tone girl…" The DE spat as he slapped her, hard.
Luna's cheek turned red and her head turned at the force of the slap, but no noise left her lips. She wasn't about to show to those evil men that what they had done had hurt her.
And suddenly, she had an idea, she concentrated hard, her eyes fixed on the first DE. All of a sudden a low growl could be heard, as a dark-orange, black-stripped, four-legged and tailed beast seemed to come out from some bushes; it was a tiger.
The DE stepped backwards, fear clear in his eyes; he hadn't been expecting to see an animal such as that in that place.
Luna silently turned to the tiger and then back to the DE. It was as if she had just given the animal some silent order as it immediately jumped against the DE, tackling him to the ground in a direct attack.
"No!" The DE cried out. "Get it off me! No!!"
Meanwhile, the second DE couldn't understand why his partner had suddenly dropped to the ground and began screaming in such a way. He couldn't see anything wrong, except the very deep gaze the girl had on him.
And it was that there was no tiger at all, it was a creation of Luna's mind, an illusion she had made her attacker believe real. For him it was so real he could even feel the weight of the animal above him, its foul breath across his face, and its paws against his skin.
"Reducto!" The second DE attacked Luna.
The attacked missed the girl almost miraculously; though it was still enough to break her concentration. The tiger vanished into thin air as she dropped to her knees, her breathing was labored and she was really exhausted. She had never held such a complex illusion for so long. It was an amazing achievement.
The DE noticed his partner had stopped his screaming after he attacked the girl, it was a good thing he had managed to stop whatever it was she had been doing, yet the harm was done already. The other man was unconscious already, apparently the fear was just too much for him and he ended falling into a deep shock, unconscious.
"What did you do to him b&$h?!" The DE yelled at Luna.
The girl didn't answer him. She barely had enough energy to remain awake at the moment, she certainly didn't have enough to get on a chat (or discussion), with him.
"Answer me!" The DE demanded. "Crucio!"
It was a miracle that Luna's reflexes still worked as she threw herself to a side, barely dodging the unforgivable curse that had been aimed at her.
"Neville!" Luna called suddenly, knowing she needed help if she wanted to make it out of that place alive. "The plants!"
Neither she nor her attacked heard any response from the boy who had been thrown back some minutes ago.
"It seems your boyfriend has abandoned you, you're all alone…" The DE began.
But he stopped mid-sentence when he noticed he couldn't move from his spot, and when he turned his eyes downwards he could see why: some thick vines were wrapping themselves around his legs, fast, immobilizing him.
"It seems you're wrong." Neville whispered as he stepped out behind the DE.
And before he got any chance to reply he was hit by a stupefy curse from behind, falling unconscious to the ground immediately, the vines still around his legs.
"Are you alright Luna?" Neville asked his girlfriend worriedly.
"I'm fine Neville." Luna nodded. "Only a bit tired."
Neville nodded and after making sure those DE wouldn't be able to move from their spots he helped his girl get on her feet and out of the botanical garden.
.---.
Back in the main part of Hogsmeade Harvey and Ginny were fighting back to back, just like Ron and Lavender, against the DE that attacked them. It seemed that the dark wizards went harder against them than against others because they had been the ones to motivate the rest of the people to fight.
Many of the others who were fighting had paired up as well, following the example of the two first couples; they knew it was easier that way, to watch each other's backs. Those who didn't know how to fight, or were too afraid to do it had finally managed to hide inside the different shops, a team of fighters always remaining near the entrances to stop the DEs from going inside; it would just be disastrous.
Lavender tried to keep her 'seer-eye' as alert as possible, so she could predict the attacks that came to her and Ron; so far it seemed to be working.
Ron still relied more on his wand than in his 'gift', though he couldn't deny that it was quite useful in the situation he and his friends had gotten themselves in. Even when he was moving with a greater speed and accuracy than he used to (thanks to the training in DADA), it was near impossible to create magic-shields to every attack that came; and he couldn't very well dodge them because then he would be putting Lavender in risk, who was right behind him, counting on him to protect her from behind, just like she did for him.
So, in such a situation Ron kept casting spell after spell with his wand in his right hand, while he also kept his left raised, concentrated in deflecting as many attacks as possible, so he didn't have to be continuously making the protergo spell.
Harvey and Ginny were having an even harder time getting rid of their own enemies. And it was that the DE saw them as the 'instigators' of the rebellion, and it a belief that if the leaders fell the rest wouldn't know what do, making them the greatest target.
However, the couple seemed to be holding themselves rather nicely. With all the training they had done in the last two months, not only during the class, but also to be ready for it; and even before, during the tournament, and after what had happened in the Ministry in fifth year.
Even if Ginny hadn't had as much training she was still quite talented at dueling, and her gift helped a lot. She could sense in which direction the attackers were, so she was able to have an almost perfect aim without having to take a very good look at her target first.
There was also the fact that Ginny wasn't the kind of person who gave up just because there was danger ahead; in fact many believed she liked doing dangerous things, maybe to prove that she wasn't just the little-Weasley-girl, youngest-of-seven-siblings. She wanted to prove everyone that she was more, much more, she was her own person, and was worthy of respect and admiration just as much as her boyfriend and the rest of their friends.
The fight between the DE and those wizards and witches who had dared opposed them went on for what seemed like hours. They were all getting tired, but none of them were about to accept defeat; even if some refused to do that because they were just too proud, and the others because their very lives depended on them hanging on.
"Expelliarmus!"
It was rather unexpected when that particular jinx hit Harvey head on. He didn't have any time to create a shield, dodge or whatever else he could have done. He was sent flying backwards until he hit the wall of a nearby building so hard that he lost his breath for a moment, and his wand was completely out of his reach, and even out of his sight.
"Harvey!" Ginny cried out worriedly.
She turned around, about to run to help her boyfriend, but right then she was attacked by even more DE than before. She had to concentrate as hard as possible to keep track of each and every one of her attackers so as to be able to defend against all of them at the same time. And even when she managed it was a very hard thing to do, and she knew she wouldn't be lasting too much that way. The more she concentrated in her gift the faster she lost her energy.
Billie had warned them about energy-drains when using their gifts too much, especially when considering that they weren't yet used to having such powers at their disposition. They had all learned to accept that, it was obvious they needed time and practice to be able to master such powers to their full extent; but they had never expected to be in a situation when they would need those gifts so much, yet not be ready yet.
It didn't pass unnoticed to Harvey how difficult it had become for his girlfriend to hold her ground while being attacked by so many; and Ron and Lavender couldn't help her, they had their hands full as it was.
The 'boy-who lived' noticed a DE that hadn't yet made his move, yet he was eyeing Ginny in a way that made Harvey feel disgusted. He immediately knew things could get pretty ugly if he didn't move…and that's what he did.
Ginny sensed the powerful unforgivable going straight to her, but she was already fighting off too many curses and DE at the same time, and the attack was coming from an angle she really couldn't access without exposing herself to the rest of her attackers. So she could only wait.
Yet the attack never came. And when she could immediately sense why, Harvey was behind her, holding a magic shield, a magic shield he had conjured with his bare hands.
Satisfied with his success Harvey silently summoned his wand, and as soon as he had it in his hand he began firing two series of spells, one with his wand, and one with his bare hand. It wasn't something easy, he required a lot of concentration and energy, but he trusted he could do it, he had to do it. He couldn't continue hiding like he had done so many times before, so many people believed in him, that he could help save them all, maybe it was time he finally began believing in himself.
Ok, first things first. As you may have noticed due to the title of the chapter, this is just the first half. The second half of this 'day' will come in the upcoming chapter, and will mainly talk about how Harry and his group will handle the attack.
Now, as you may have noticed with this chapter and as I believed I had already said, Harvey isn't a bad guy; he just isn't as close to Harry as he probably should be. For all his life he's depended on his parents, always beliving what they said to him, and as they never took Harry in consideration, neither did he. But that's already changing; Harvey isn't a fool, he's noticed that strange things happened around his brother, and while he might not say it openly, he's worried for him. Now Harvey has decided to begin really fighting, for him, and not just for what titles others may call him. That will give a definite turn to this story.
Well, don't forget to leave reviews and prepare for the second half of "And Eventful Halloween", some important things will be handled there, and we'll see the return of a certain 'traitor'...
See you!
